Youths Can Pick A Pail Over Jail

Juveniles who commit non-violent crimes in the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods have the choice between going before a judge or picking a few weeds.

The Beverly Area Planning Association has joined with the Chicago police to take a stand aganist juvenile offenders between the ages of 12 and 16 who are caught drinking, shoplifting, stealing bikes or painting graffiti.

The Alternative Consequence Program for Youth Offenders is the group's answer. The juveniles who choose to enter it will have to spend time cleaning up the area.

"This program will make kids stop and think: `Hey, if I spray-paint this guy's wall, I'll have to clean this guy's wall,' " said Sgt. Richard Norris of the Morgan Park District.

"We are sending a strong signal that this type of behavior will not be tolerated here," added Ald. Ginger Rugai (19th). "We are acting, not reacting, to an intolerable situation."

The pilot program was proposed by the neighborhood association to cover the area between 87th and 119th Streets and Vincennes Avenue and California Avenue. The police's youth division headquarters will supervise the program, which began Thursday.

The crimes that are covered may be minor in comparison to the violence that plagues the city, but according to Cook County State's Atty. Jack O'Malley, "they can easily destroy the quality of life in a neighborhood quickly."

The program was designed to keep young people out of the overcrowded Juvenile Court while providing a fair, restitutive form of punishment. This program will help the police, the community and the youths in the long run, Norris said.

He added that nearly two-thirds of the crimes committed in the area are non-violent misdemeanors.

O'Malley emphasized that the program is not intended to give youngsters a pass, but instead to ease the pressure on the courts so more serious offenses can go to trial.

"The courts are . . . too overcrowded, so they end up giving these young people passes, so they end up callous and disrespectful as a result," O'Malley said.

There are three similar programs in Cook County: one in the southern part, another in Evanston, and a program that covers the South and West Sides of Chicago aimed at first-time offenders charged with possession of stolen motor vehicles.

According to O'Malley, the programs have made a dent in the number of juvenile-delinquency petitions.

Offenders in the Beverly/Morgan Park program must do community service for one of the participating organizations: the Washington and Jane Smith Retirement Home, the Beverly Art Center, the neighborhood association, the Ridge Historical Society, Beacon Therapeutic School, Park District, the Century Garden, a food pantry, the area recycling program, the Cook County Forest Preserves or Rugai's ward office.